Judge grants motion to dismiss charges against Barry Morphew in wife Suzanne's disappearance

In a high-profile case that has already seen numerous and sometimes odd twists and turns over the past two years, including most recently, crucial judicial sanctions, a judge agreed to dismiss all charges against Barry Morphew, without prejudice, just nine days before he was to stand trial for the first-degree murder of his wife and mother of their two daughters, Suzanne Morphew. 

Prosecutors, who can re-file charges in the future, filed a motion to dismiss the indictment minutes before a pre-trial conference on April 19, 2022, with DA Linda Stanley writing they need to investigate further and believe "we are close to discovering the victim's body."  Stanley also cited the court's decision to exclude "several key expert witnesses initially endorsed.  Without this crucial evidence and without the victim's body, the People cannot move forward at this time in good faith."

"First I want to say that Mr. Morphew not only was presumed innocent and still is presumed innocent, he is innocent," Morphew's attorney, Iris Eytan, said at a press conference after the charges were dropped.  In response to the State pointing to the need to find Suzanne's body, she said, "Forever they have stated that they don't need a body — that a body is irrelevant.  But you need to know, that in this case, there has been not a single ounce of physical evidence that has been found connecting Mr. Morphew to this … alleged crime."